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Posts tagged with the category Aimee C. Juarez

The Collective Voice of a Leaderless Group

As leaderless mobs of angry, unemployed 20-somethings continue to march on Wall Street this week picketing against big business and the federal government, my thoughts can't help but drift back to the pages of Marvin R. Weisbord's 2004 book, Productive Workplaces Revisited: Dignity, Meaning, and Community in the 21st Century.
They return...

A Different Kind of Leader: Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

Steve Jobs broke all the rules of leadership and management.
He was an erratic micromanager; a brutal force to be reckoned with at meetings, often eviscerating staffers for their "bozo ideas"; and typically shrugged off his associates' suggestions in favor of his own gut instinct.
"He never mellowed, never let up on Apple...

Dealing with Vulnerability

After my study session wound down earlier tonight, I scanned my bookshelf to find an organizational systems topic that I could write this post on.
Organizational culture. Sustainability. Leverage points. They all jumped out, but none of them grabbed me.
Then my eyes landed on a thin booklet from the Leadership Institute of Seattle (or LIOS)—...

Got Assumptions?

One of the best tips I ever got came from journalism school.
The tip involved assumption-making and it was offered in the form of a question-and-answer.
Do you know what happens when you make assumptions? The journalism professor asked my undergraduate, database research class. The first three letters of the word "assumption," that's...

Shocking the System

I tuned into CNN this morning the way I typically do before breakfast when a quotation on the screen immediately grabbed my attention: "shock to the system."
The quote belonged to New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman who was discussing how he believes that a third-party, presidential candidate could deliver the systemic jolt...

One in 30,000

Imagine walking into work every morning wondering if it'll be your last day there.
That's how thousands of Bank of America employees probably felt this morning after the company publicly announced its plans yesterday to slash 30,000 jobs over the next few years.
The massive downsizing is part of a cost-cutting measure crafted by Bank of...

Chrysalis Interrupted: The Leadership and Dwindling Popularity of Barack Obama

Criticizing the leadership capabilities of presidential hopeful Barack Obama was considered a blasphemous act of heresy during the summer of 2008.
Back then, you were asking for trouble and social ostracism if you dared cast doubt over Obama's vague notions of hope, change, and the future of the U.S. across various sectors.
Today, it's OK...

The Value of Face-to-Face Conversations

Call me old-fashioned, but nothing beats having a face-to-face conversation with another person.
Sorry, Facebook. Sorry, Twitter. Sorry, Skype. But I really don’t think any social media site, gadget, or app can replace this method of communication—the most authentic way of connecting with another human being.
When you're chatting...

Libya and the Leverage Points of Change

We're on the cusp of watching real change sweep through Libya this week as rebel fighters seize the capital city of Tripoli in their ongoing effort to overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
With a new political body ready to replace Gadhafi's 42-year regime, the rebels' plight toward freedom these past six months has been fueled by...

"Thriving in Perpetuity"

A sustainable organization is capable of "thriving in perpetuity."
Those were the words of environmental activisit Adam Werbach—words I first came across earlier this week while reading Alexander and Kathia Laszlo's post, The Practices of Systemic Sustainability.
Werbach's use of the word perpetuity stuck with me these past...

"...In the hardest of moments, we can also live the fullest of lives."

While perusing my Facebook page this afternoon, I learned that the friend of a friend—a woman named Maria—was recently hospitalized in her battle against an inoperable brain tumor.
Maria's name sounded familiar so I looked her up. I know her, I thought. But I don't know her. At least not formally.
I remembered her as Mari...

Will the real systemic leaders please stand up?

Last night on CNN, Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina used the "s" word to describe the kind of change he wants to see in Washington, D.C., to end the recurring debt-default issue once and for all.
The "s" word he used was systemic.
"Systemic change," Mr. Gowdy said, is the change he'd like to...